Bina Rai Passes On Aged 78

Golden age actress Bina Rai died suddenly yesterday at the age of 78 following a heart attack. Her elder son, who was in Melbourne, is returning as quickly as possible. ‘‘My parents have rushed back to Mumbai,” said grandson and director Sidharth Malhotra, “I have to finish the shoot as the unit is waiting then I’ll return to Mumbai. My grandmother was the best woman.’’

Born in Lucknow in pre-partition India, Bina was so determined to become an actress that she went on hunger strike until her parents relented and allowed her to try. She then went on to become an acclaimed actress appearing in such films as Anarkali (1953) with Pradeep Kumar, in which she played the title role, Sholay (1953) with Ashok Kumar, Aurat (1953) with her future husband Premnath, Insaniyaat (1955), with Dev Anand and Dilip Kumar, Sardar with Ashok Kumar, Taj Mahal (1963) and Ghungaat (1960) with Asha Parekh for which she won a Best Actress Award beating Madhubala who had been nominated for Mughal-e-Azam.

She was married to actor Premnath and was the sister-in-law of Raj Kapoor. “Her funeral will take place in Banganga in South Mumbai, Monday at around 4 p.m,” said her younger son Kailash.